


Lion Passant

by ProfessorESP



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Princess Diaries Fusion, Gen, I wrote this in like 45 minutes, Present Tense, basically just a prologue because i understand my own limits, no beta we die like men, so im here to pick up your slack, you absolute cowards haven't written a fic where ed and al find out their dad is king of xerxes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21726175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfessorESP/pseuds/ProfessorESP
Summary: Ed knows his father is probably important. When Al was really little, Mom would say that his job was gluing Xerxes back together whenever it broke. As far as Ed's' concerned, that's still a shitty excuse for leaving for ten years.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 89





	Lion Passant

It’s not like Ed thinks they’ve lived in Resembool forever. Mom’s pictures and stories say otherwise, and he sort of remembers living out east, the way you do when you reconstruct a childhood based on stories and photographs. They moved back to Mom’s home town after she got sick—brain sick, not body sick, that happened later—but the bastard stayed behind to work.

Ed knows his father is probably important. When Al was really little, Mom would say that his job was gluing Xerxes back together whenever it broke. Ed’s pretty sure the old man has a high ranking job in the government; they never want for money, even after Ed enrolls in University and mom starts having medical bills, and the wedding photos have the two of them wearing crowns.

(When they’re seven, Winry points out that people in Drachma wear crowns when they get married, so now she’s convinced their dad is a secret crime boss who funnels money through Xerxes to keep his wife ignorant, and one day he’ll come south to bring Ed and Al into the family business. They both agree she’s loose a screw.)

When Ed turns eleven Mom’s health takes a turn for the worse, so by mutual agreement he and Al test out of school to stay home and take care of her. Mom guilts him into going to university after some military guys come and offer him a scholarship, so now he spends the week in Central living in military housing and taking classes on stuff he’s known since he was eight because they won’t let a kid half the age of their usual students test out of core classes because it’s “showing off.” He has to go to the recruitment office once a week and he spends the full two hours complaining bitterly while Mustang’s staff makes fun of him.

Mom’s health keeps getting worse, and Al finally calls one week when he’s fourteen telling him he dug up Mom’s address book and sent a letter to their dad. Ed’s mad at first, mad enough to hang up on him. The bastard hasn’t bothered to come by in ten years, so why should they bother telling him anything now? Al calls him back and yells at him about _Mom won’t even let Grandma Pinako know how bad it is, did you maybe think she’s been lying to our dad too? How would you feel if you only found out she was dying because someone called you about the funeral!_ Which is a low blow, but he has a point.

It takes another two weeks, but then Ed gets called out of class over a family emergency and thrown into the recruitment office, where a man he’s only seen in photos is sitting in front of an irate looking Mustang.

“Ed, you’ve grown,” the guy who hasn’t seen him in ten years says, and Mustang rubs his temples.

“Fullmetal,” he says, the stupid fucking nickname Brenda gave him because of his arm and leg that Ed won’t admit is pretty funny, “you didn’t mention your father was the _King of Xerxes.”_

Anyone who expects Ed to be speechless after that doesn’t know him at _all_.


End file.
